


The Switch up

by Fordoingmyjob25



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29538924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fordoingmyjob25/pseuds/Fordoingmyjob25
Summary: Takes place right after 3x04. Jackson receives the news of his blue page. He tells Lucy. Grey decides to switch partners for a couple days leaving Lucy with Stanton. How will Tim react?
Relationships: Lucy chen - Relationship, Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 27
Kudos: 169





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I have never Written a fan fiction before. Never even attempted to. Hope it is good and I will take all the constructive crisicism I need haha. Please tell me if you would like me continue with this story!! Just came to my head so I decided to write about it.

“I still can’t believe he gave you a blue page” Lucy says as she is walking into the station. “He just knows that I won’t be silent Luce. I’m not going to let someone like Stanton stay on the streets”. Lucy decided this would be a good time to hug Jackson. She knew how much this was bothering him. She was proud of her roommate and best friend for standing up for what he believed in. It’s what made her love him so much. “Well I am proud of you Jackson. So is Grey, Tim and more importantly I know your dad would be too”.

Just as she said that Stanton decided to walk up. “What’s up CHEN!!! Today will be interesting for you” Stanton mumbled under his breath. “Jackson bro, no hard feelings. You know that right.” Jackson already had decided he was going to suck up to Stanton just to take him down. Keep your friends close & enemies closer right? “Yes sir. I understand what I did was wrong, and I hope you will allow me to still ride with you for the remainder of my rookie period.” It pained Jackson to even say that, but he knew he had to for the greater good. “actually, there will be a little bit of a switch up today, but you never know what will happen” Stanton says. As he walked away, he looked Lucy up and down and gave her a little wink. She felt her heart rate pick up and blood started to boil. “What the hell was that and what does he mean?”. “I have no idea Luce, but I really hate that guy”. “I need to find Tim right now” Lucy said as she walked off in search of Tim. 

\--------

Tim had just got changed and was getting his cup of coffee for the day. He was determined to help Jackson with Stanton. He hated the guy. Tim was known for being a hot head, so he had to really control himself. He couldn’t screw this up just because he wanted to beat the shit out of the guy. He had to take it slow and do this the right way. He walked into the briefing room and took his seat. He immediate looked up when he saw Lucy walking towards him. She looked like she was going to blow. The last time she had that look on her face was when they went to talk to Rosalind at the prison. Tim braced for the worst. As she got closer Tim pulled the chair out next to him for her. 

“Lucy what’s going on? You look like you are going to burst.” “What’s going on is that Stanton is a pig and If it wasn’t for Jacksons sake, I would run him down with the shop.” Tim could tell Lucy was bothered by something. People were starting to come into the room, and they didn’t have much privacy to talk. Tim slid in closer to Lucy, put his arm around her chair and leaned in close to her ear.   
“what did he do? Do I need to take care of something?” Lucy could feel Tim’s warm breath on her neck. He knew exactly how to calm her down. He had become such a permeant person in her life that she went to him for her problems. It was never awkward between them. She felt completely safe. 

Lucy continued to explain everything that had happened. From Stanton walking up to them, to him making the comment to Lucy, and even the wink. Tim hated him. If they weren’t working, he would tell the guy to meet him outside. “Listen Boot, Stanton is all bark no bite. He is probably just messing with you. If he continues, I’ll take care of it. You know I’ve always got your---“. Before Tim could finish Grey walked in with an annoyed face. Lucy got up and made her way to the front table with Jackson and Nolan. He could see Jackson ask if everything was okay. She slightly nodded her head up and down. Tim couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He glanced up for a moment to look at Grey and he was staring right at him. Tim felt his face grow red. He knew Grey had defiantly just seen the way Tim was looking at his rookie. Greys face wasn’t disappointed though. It was more of an I’m Sorry look. 

“Okay TOs/ Rookies. Today we are doing a bit of a switch up” the second the words left Greys mouth Tim knew what it was. His worst nightmare. “Jackson and Bradford, you are partnered for the next couple shifts” he then turned to Lucy “Chen you will be partnered with Stanton. This is not permeant, but it is just what needs to happen right now”. He gave a sympathetic look to Lucy. “Chen come find me after this” said Grey. Tim was about to explode. He did not want Lucy riding with scum like Stanton. He didn’t care about her safety. He didn’t care about anything. Tim thought, how could Grey do this? Why would he put Lucy’s life in danger? He was so overwhelmed he didn’t even see everyone get up until Stanton came up to him. 

Tim immediately stood up “Stanton if anything happens to her. Its on you. You weren’t here for last year and I was. Just watch you six” Tim stepped a little closer to Stanton. All Stanton had was a grim smile on his face. He reached out and put his hand on Tim’s arm. “Oh, don’t you worry Timmy. I’ll take really good of her. Thanks for lending her over to me. It will be nice to have a piece like that to look at for the next couple days” Stanton glanced over to Lucy who was talking with Jackson. Tim saw Stanton wink at her and lost it. “you better watch what you say Doug. I have no problem laying you out right her right now” Tim got even closer. Their chest cams were basically touching. “anytime pal” Doug said. Still with that damn stupid smile. “BRADFORD” yelled Grey, “HERE NOW” It took Tim minute to back off, but he felt Lucy’s eyes on him, and he knew this might make it harder on her today. So, he walked away. Stanton walked out of the room. It was just Grey, Tim and Lucy.

“What the hell was that Tim?” Lucy said as he walked up to her. She put her hand on his arm. It calmed him down. She had a way of doing that to him. “you don’t want to know Luce”. “so Grey please tell me on why you think it is a good idea to give my rookie to Stanton” Tim said forcefully. Lucy grew anxious because she could tell that Grey was not happy with the way Tim said that. Grey knew that Tim was upset. He even understood why. Grey was not going to pretend that he didn’t know what this was about. Stanton clearly made a comment about Lucy and Tim didn’t like that. Grey didn’t want to get into how Tim reacted because it would open a can of worms, he doesn’t even think Lucy or Tim have opened yet. But Grey still was the superior. Tim had to respect that. 

“Officer Bradford, Officer Chen is not only YOUR ROOKIE. WHAT I SAY GOES AND THIS IS HAPPENING”. Tim looked like he was going to say something smart back, but one thing Tim had was respect for the chain of command. So instead he just followed with “Yes Sir”. Lucy did the same. “Now I know you both have been filled in about everything happening with Jackson and Stanton. I need Chen out there with Stanton. He already knows how Jackson is going to react, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to ride with Chen. He will be too distracted by Chen, no offence, to even realize this is our way of getting the guy. Now Chen, don’t let Stanton walk all over you. Be safe. Don’t let him put you in harm’s way but stand up for yourself okay?” “Yes sir”. “okay then, Chen, Bradford get out there and get this SOB”. 

Tim knew exactly what Lucy was thinking the second they walked out the door. He put his hand on the small of her back and walked her towards one of the interrogation rooms. “Tim I can do this right? I can do this. Stanton is a low life piece of shit. I’m going to be fi---” before she could even finish that Tim had both of his hands holding her face. “Lucy I will be there for every call if I have to. You text me and Jackson if you need anything. If that douche tries anything with you. Tell me. I’ll make him regret it in a heartbeat.” Lucy just nodded. She knew her and Tim were close, but they had never physically been this close before (except for the time he gave her CPR). She grabbed him by the waist and hugged him. He made her feel confident. She pulled away and grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it tight. They stood there for a minute. Not breaking eye contact. At that point everything was moving slow. All either of them could feel was that something shifted in that moment. It wasn’t awkward but this was territory neither of them had been in yet. “I’ll be okay Tim. I promise” and then she was gone. Tim stood there for a minute not knowing what had just happened. He almost forgot how to breathe. He knew he had to compose himself before walking out. 

His feelings came like a train & he knew he was screwed

Lucy knew she was screwed.

She barely made it out of the room before she leaned back against the wall. Lucy Chen could not be feeling like that towards her TO. So, she decided she would push it far away. Today was going to be interesting. She needed to be completely focused on the task. Not on Tim. 

Okay so that was my first attempt. I don’t know if I’m going to write another chapter. I guess I’ll just see if yall like it!? Please let me know if you enjoyed this!


	2. The Switch Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You see what happens with Tim after the ending of chapter one. How does Lucy deal with Stanton? Lucy and Tim both try and figure out how they feel about each other but also trying to deal with the Stanton situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the positive feed back. Sorry it took me so long to put out chapter 2!!!!!! Enjoy:)

TIMS POV  
Tim stood in the interrogation room for a second to figure out where his head was at. One side of him was worrying about Lucy riding with Stanton. He knew she could take care of herself, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do everything in his power to protect her. The other side of him was trying to get his head in the game to be there for her. For her. Tim thought to himself what had just happened between them. Was it all in his head? The second she grabbed his hand everything slowed down. It was a moment that you know will stick with you forever. He decided to push it away. He needed to be focused on one thing and one thing only. Stanton. 

As Tim walked out of the room, he saw Jackson loading up the shop. He didn’t see Lucy, so he assumed they were already out patrolling. As he was walking towards the shop Jackson looked at him with worry on his face. Before Jackson could say anything, Tim put his hand up “I’ve talked to Chen. Keep your phone on ring. We are patrolling near them today just in case they need backup.”. 

Jackson just shook his head in understanding. Jackson wasn’t an idiot. He understood how much Tim cared for his roommate and how much his roommate cared for her TO. When he first met Tim, he wasn’t too fond of him. He actually thought Tim was going to be a Stanton. But Tim wasn’t. Tim put up layers to hide his pain. He had been through a lot. Tim was a good guy. A great guy even. Jackson trusted Tim completely and that was a big step for him. 

“thank you for always watching out for Lucy” Jackson said nervously. Tim looked over at Jackson with a “I know what you’re trying to do look”. 

“She’s my boot West. It’s my job to protect her” said Tim. Jackson thought. “another layer” 

That was the end of that conversation. They small talked for the next couple ours. Gave a couple tickets. Responded to a few calls. It was about time for lunch. Tim was relieved. He had sent Lucy a couple of texts but hadn’t heard much of anything from her. At lunch he would pull her aside. 

As they pulled up for lunch Tim could already see Lucy waiting in line to grab food. Stanton was sitting with some of the other guys from the station. This was his time. He walked up to Lucy and leaded on the food truck.

“Boot how are things going?”. “Fine Tim. Nothing’s happened, if it had I would’ve texted you or Jackson I promise”. She grabbed her food and started walking away and then stopped. “come sit with me when you get your food Tim. I want to talk”. 

She said it with such a confidence. Tim heartrate picked up. Crap. Crap. She is going to tell me I crossed the line this morning. I didn’t even know there was a line until I was standing over it. 

Tim grabbed his food and walked over to Lucy. “Hey” he said nervously. “Hi. So, look Tim. I want to get Stanton as much as anyone, but I think it’s going to take time. He’s going to have to trust me and right now he looks at me like I’m spying on him. Which I guess I am….” She said nervously. “I just need some advice. How do I make him believe that I am not trying to get him fired?” 

Tim sat there in shock. He really thought she wanted to talk about this morning. He cleared his throat. “Um Humm well, the best thing you can do is not try too hard. Act normal. Act like it’s you and me talking. Even though I’m way better looking and such better company” when the words came out of Tim’s mouth, he immediately regretted them. Was I seriously just flirting with her? Get it together Tim. He couldn’t help but notice the giggle that escaped her lips. He caught himself smiling while watching her. 

“you are going to be fine Lucy. Just be yourself” oh shit another moment was coming. Lucy was looking right into his eyes. His heartrate picked up and he started to feel nauseous. She had a confidence about her that made him unable to breathe. The moment faded when Stanton yelled for Lucy. 

“Chen let’s get going. We have some stuff to go take care of” Lucy got up and walked away. As she did, she laid her hand on Tim’s arm. “Thanks Tim. Talk to you tonight”. 

LUCY POV  
Did I really just do that Lucy thought? Why did I touch his arm? Why. Lucy had been distracted all morning. When she should’ve been worrying about Stanton her mind was preoccupied. With a tall, handsome TO. 

He made her feel electric. He had so much faith in her that she had an overwhelming about of confidence. He brought that out in her. Knowing that he had faith in her to do whatever she wanted made her better. She was proud of it. 

It was nearing end of shift and everything had surprisingly gone smooth. Stanton had made some dumb ass comments but nothing enough to make Lucy question anything. Of course, she believed Jackson, but Stanton was playing smart. 

As they were driving back to the station, they saw a group of men standing in a circle on the edge of a sidewalk. “Hm Chen does anything look out of place to you? “before she could respond Stanton had the radio “Seven Adam Seven. Show us responding to a pedestrian stop”.

Lucy felt he heartrate rise. It was three black men. This was a nice neighborhood. She wouldn’t have stopped. They weren’t doing anything wrong. So she decided to say it. “respectfully sir. Why are we stopping. They don’t seem like they are wanting any trouble”. 

Stanton look sharply at her “oh don’t tell me you don’t think that looks suspicious. I would think someone that had gone through something like you did would be extra aware.” She couldn’t even believe he had just said that. She now understood where Jackson was coming from. 

She got out of the shop before anything could turn bad. “What’s up hommies? What’s going on over here?” Stanton said. Lucy cringed at the idea of what he was trying to do. So, she intervened. “Hey guys we are just doing some routine stops. How are yall doing today?” She expressed with a smile on her face.

“Would be doing a whole lot better if this cop would leave us alone” Said the older out of the three. Stanton moved closer “Hey young thug. You might want to watch your mouth and show some respect.” The kid was not backing down. Lucy stepped in front of Stanton “hey guys, why don’t yall just head home. It is getting dark anyways”. The kid knew what Lucy was trying to do and nodded his head. They started walking away. 

“Boot what the hell was that. You never undermine my authority. I have more experience remember that.”. “You’re right sir. Won’t happen again.”. “yeah you’re right it won’t.” 

They walked back to the shop. Stanton got in and looked at Lucy. “we have to make one more stop”. Lucy gulped and smiled. She may look fine on the outside but on the inside Lucy was panicking. 

Tim and Jackson got back to the station right as their shift ended. It had been a pretty slow day. A couple arrests but nothing too major. Hadn’t heard much from Lucy, which was bittersweet. It was odd not riding with her, but he was glad her day had gone smoothly. He looked down at his watch to see that her and Stanton had not arrived. He felt a wave of worry rush over him but snapped out of it. 

Lucy looked over at Stanton. It was past the time for them to be back. “There’s a house I promised I would check on. This lady from my church asked me to come. Says her neighbor is acting suspicious. She lives alone so I just want to make sure everything is fine” 

Lucy rolled her eyes. Of course, he was trying to play mister innocent. All she knew was that she was starving. They were due to be back at the station five minutes ago and she wanted nothing more to get out of this car. 

Lucy knew that they were not in the best area. High crime rate. It was dark and it would probably be smart of them to call for back up. She reached for the radio when Stanton grabbed her had. “no need for that boot. We will be fine”

Lucy nodded her head. Tim would never put her in this position. She thought about texting him, but she knew Tim’s schedule. He would already be back at the station finishing paperwork. So she decided not to. 

They got out of the shop and walked up to the house. They could hear music playing loudly in the background. “LAPD open up”. She heard the music turn off and then nothing. Stanton yelled again “LAPD OPEN UP NOW.” 

A middle-aged white man opened the door. He clearly had been using. She could see the marks on his arms, and he was missing teeth. Lucy stepped forward. “sir we have a complaint. Just making sure everything’s running smoothly here. And if you would be so kind to turn your music down your neighbors would greatly appreciate it.”

“Now now now my bitch of a neighbor needs to chill out. It’s not even 10 yet. I can do whatever the hell I want” The man was stumbling. Lucy smelt alcohol on his breath. Great she thought. Something else to make my day worse. The man started walking closer towards her. She looked back at Stanton. 

“boot you take lead you have this.” He winked. He backed up to get in the yard. At that moment she knew what he was doing. Proving her a lesson. 

The man charged at Lucy tackling her to the ground. Next thing she saw was his fist coming straight for her face. He got one good punch in before Lucy had him on his stomach. “Stanton what the hell was that. I thought you had my back”

“you live and you learn boot. You live and you learn. Oh, by the way sir. You are under arrest for assaulting an officer. Killing two birds with one stone isn’t that right Chen”. Lucy pulled the suspect up. Stanton knew he was going to do this. She wasn’t surprised either. But this was not a lesson. This was him being cruel. She could feel her eye swelling as she pulled the suspect up and put him in the back of the shop. This was war and she was not going to give up. 

TIMS POV  
Tim always made sure to park near Lucy. Ever since the Caleb thing he just wanted to make sure that she was okay. The thing is that Lucy didn’t drive this morning. Jackson had a date with Sterling so Tim said he would wait for Lucy and drive her home. He didn’t mind. This wasn’t weird either. Lucy had asked Tim for multiple rides. 

Tim texted Lucy and told her he would take her home tonight so Jackson could get to his date. Plus, this gave them some time to talk. 

Lucy responded quickly: “Today sucked. Need a beer. Know a place that has one?”

Tim sighed: “I can think of a couple. Just meet me by my truck”

About 20 minutes later Tim heard someone walking up. He assumed it was Lucy. He wished it was, but no Doug Stanton with a dumb smile on his face. 

“Hey Timmy. You’ve got a real special one there. She might need some help on following directions though, but don’t worry I handled it for you.” Doug winked at he got into his car. Tim didn’t even have the chance to respond before he drove off. 

He heard more footsteps. This time he knew were Lucy. She was looking down. He got out of the bed and pulled up the tailgate. “Hey Stanton, just said something about handling you because you didn’t follow directions. What’s that all about?”. Tim crossed his arms and looked at her. 

“this is what he meant by that Tim” Lucy said annoyed. 

His blood began to boil. Lucy’s right eye had a massive bruise around it. Dammit if she had just come out sooner, he would’ve beat the shit out of Stanton. 

“Lucy” Tim said as he moved closer to her and putting his hand on her cheek and rubbing her under eye. “Did he do that to you?” “yes” Tim’s chest raised. “Well no. Well kind of. Let’s just say he does not like being challenged and he decided I should handle an arrest alone that clearly needed two officers. The guy was cracked out”

Lucy didn’t seem upset just annoyed. But Tim. Tim was upset. He was furious. He knew she could handle herself. He had full faith, but he didn’t like it. 

Neither of them realized that Tim was still holding Lucy’s face until the moment they both did. Lucy looked at Tim’s lips. He knew she did that. He did the same knowing she clearly noticed. They both started moving closer together. To the point where they were breathing the same air. Tim’s lips parted and he took a big breath. He started to lean in but before anything could happen, they hear a door.

They both moved back immediately. Tim clearing his throat and Lucy coughing. Tim scratched the back of his head and grabbed Lucy’s bag. “So that beer?” Lucy smiled and nodded. “yes please. 

They both walked around to their doors. Before Tim could open the driver’s door, he inhaled a big breath. Little did he know Lucy was doing the same thing on the other side of the truck.


End file.
